Mexico’s Pemex Says Nine Injured, One Dead in Platform Fire

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico’s state-controlled oil company said a fire at one of its Akal-B oil platforms in the Campeche Bank left nine people injured and one person dead Saturday afternoon.

Petroleos Mexicanos, also called Pemex, said five of the injured were its employees while the rest were from other companies. The deceased worker was from the company COTER. The fire was controlled in under 20 minutes, it said in a statement. 

Akal-B, which is part of the Cantarell production complex, produces 200,000 barrels per day of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas, the Reforma newspaper reported. The fire began where gas fuel pipes feed the platform’s turbo machinery, Pemex said.

Pemex plans to halt some crude exports over the next few months, Bloomberg reported last week, citing people with knowledge of the situation. The move would cut supply from a tightening global market and threatens to drive up oil prices.

(Update with second company statement to reflect updated death toll and seriousness of injuries.)

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